Σελίδες

Παρασκευή, 5 Δεκεμβρίου 2008

Ειδήσεις σχετικά με την Τουρκία - Hurriyet ,,

Eκβιάζει την Αρμενία η Τουρκία και κάνει πλάτες στο Αζερμπαιτζαν για το Καραμπαχ..Turkey not to open Armenia border until Azerbaijan's integrity restoredThe Turkish-Armenian border could be opened only after Armenia gives up distorting history and restores Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, Turkish Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen said. (UPDATED)"We are open to developing relations with Armenia, to open borders, and to develop trade," Tuzmen was quoted by Interfax as telling an Azeri-Turkish business forum in Baku on Thursday. Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has been closed for more than a decade over Armenia's aggression over Azerbaijan."We do not oppose developing trade relations, which will have a positive influence on the development of the whole region; however, prior to this historians should solve some issues and Azerbaijan's territorial integrity should be restored," Tuzmen added.The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1988 on Armenian territorial claims over Azerbaijan. Since 1992 Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. Some 10 percent of the Azeri population was displaced due to a series of bloody clashes both between and within the two neighboring countries. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are currently holding peaceful negotiations. TURKISH FM MEETS ARMENIAN, AZERI FMSTurkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan met separately with Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov to discuss the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Helsinki where the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting is being held.

---------------------------------------------------

Turkey sentences ex-MP of pro-Kurdish party to 10 yrs imprisonmentA Turkish court sentenced Thursday former MP from pro-Kurdish DEP, Leyla Zana, to ten years imprisonment for being a member of the PKK. The Diyarbakir court ruled that Zana had violated the penal code and the anti-terror law in nine different speeches, when she expressed support for the terror organization PKK and its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan. Zana was present to hear the verdict handed down in court in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, the Anatolian Agency reported.Her lawyer Cabar Leygara told reporters they would appeal the sentence. Ζana lost her seat in parliament in 1994 after her party was outlawed for links with the PKK.-----------------------------------------------

Turkish Cypriots protest to U.N. over Greek Cypriot oil searchTurkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat has sent a letter to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon protesting at Greek Cypriot oil search missions in the Mediterranean Sea, AFP reported on Thursday. The letter is the latest episode in a spat involving that has cast a shadow over U.N.-sponsored peace talks between Talat and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias. "The Greek Cypriot side’s unilateral activities regarding the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas ... before a comprehensive settlement prejudge and violate" the rights of Turkish Cypriots, Talat said in the Nov. 26 letter, obtained by AFP. The ongoing talks to end the island's 44-year division include the issue of maritime jurisdiction, Talat said, denouncing the Greek Cypriot exploration missions as "chronic attempts to settle the issue outside the negotiation table and to defame Turkey". Ηowever, he underlined that despite the row, the Turkish Cypriots would pursue the peace talks in good faith.GREEK CYPRIOTS' PROTESTS TO BANThe Greek Cypriots have sent their own protests to Ban, complaining of "provocation" by Turkish naval vessels attempting to impede oil exploration off its southern coast. Nicosia has said that there were four such incidents in November. Turkey responded by saying the ships, on two previously known occasions, were within its territorial waters. Christofias warned on Wednesday that the dispute could have a negative impact on the negotiations. "I find myself in the unpleasant position of expressing my dismay over the continuation of such aggressive actions," said Christofias’s complaint to UN chief Ban Ki-moon dated Nov. 25. "The continuation of these incidents, I am sad to observe, unavoidably impacts negatively on our efforts to reach a negotiated solution to the Cyprus problem," he added. Cyprus has been divided since 1964 when Turkish Cypriots were forced to withdraw into enclaves. Christofias and Talat in September opened negotiations in a U.N.-brokered bid to reunify the island but the initiative has made little tangible progress.SYRIA PROMISES COOPERATIONSyria promised Thursday to cooperate with Greek Cypriots in offshore oil-and-gas exploration, despite objections by Turkey. "The area is promising," Syria’s oil minister, Sufian Al-Alao, said after talks with Greek Cypriot officials. "We hope to find good reserves from oil and gas in the Mediterranean," he was quoted by AP as saying. Greek Cypriot Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides said the island nation will soon sign an agreement with Syria to mark the undersea oil exploration boundaries. Greek Cypriots have signed similar gas and oil exploration deals with Egypt and Lebanon, sparking Turkish protests that the deals damage the rights of Turkish Cypriots. Turkey objects to the Greek Cypriots' offshore oil search, arguing it has rights in the area and that Turkish Cypriots should also have a say She was released in June 2004 after serving a previous 10-year sentence for collaborating with PKK terrorists. The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, including the EU and the United States.